The invention relates to apparatus for manipulating flat commodities, particularly for storing and supplying substantially disc-shaped end closures or end walls for envelopes which are used to confine cylindrical objects, such as rolls of convoluted paper webs and the like.
Published German patent application No 29 44 331 of Koutonen et al. discloses a packing machine for rolls of paper or the like. The end walls which are to be applied to end faces of rolls are stored on platforms which are pivotable about the axis of a vertical column between concealed and exposed positions. A pivotable arm carries a tiltable lifter which removes the topmost end wall from the stack on a selected platform while the platform is maintained in the extended position A serious drawback of the proposal of Koutonen et al. is that the magazone can store only a limited supply of end walls and that the magazine is incapable of storing large numbers of different end walls. The reason is that the platforms for storage of different types or sizes of end walls are disposed above each other. If each platform were to store a substantial amount of spare end walls (i.e., if each platform were to carry a tall stack of superimposed end walls, the overall height of the magazine would be increased well beyond acceptable limits and the aforementioned pivotable arm would have to be moved up or down through considerable distances in order to be in a position to pick up an end wall from a platform which is located well above the floor level and to thereupon deliver the end wall to the locus of application to the end face of a roll of convoluted paper or the like.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,108 to Piesen et al. discloses a modified apparatus wherein stacks of spare end walls are confined in drawers which are installed on top of each other at both ends of a roll which is to be provided with a pair of end walls. The drawers which contain end walls of desired size are turned about vertical axes to leave the respective magazines and are thereupon pivoted through 90.degree. into vertical planes preparatory to removal of end walls therefrom. This simplifies the task of mechanical applicators which are used to remove end walls from selected drawers and to deliver them to the end faces of the roll at the positioning station between the two magazines. The just described apparatus also exhibits the drawback that its magazines can store limited supplies of spare end walls and that each drawer can store only a relatively short stack of end walls in order to maintain the height of the magazines for superimposed drawers within acceptable limits. Therefore, the supplies of stacked end walls in the drawers of the two magazines must be replenished at frequent intervals, especially if the patented apparatus is used in a production line which turns out and processes large numbers of rolls of convoluted paper webs per unit of time.
Each of the aforedescribed apparatus exhibits the additional drawback that the supplies of spare end walls or like components in the drawers or on the platforms must be replenished by hand. This necessitates continuous presence of attendants. Moreover, the replacement of stacks of superimposed end walls in the upper drawers or on the upper platforms of magazines in the aforedescribed conventional apparatus is a time-consuming and tiresome operation, and uninterrupted availability of stored spare end walls is overly dependent upon the conscientiousness of the person or persons in charge.
Published German patent application No. 35 46 284 of Ekblom discloses an apparatus which constitutes a modification of the apparatus of Koutonen and also employs a magazine wherein a vertical column supports a set of superimposed platforms for relatively small stacks of spare end walls. The apparatus of Ekblom employs an applicator which is pivotable about a horizontal axis in order to transfer the topmost end wall from a selected platform (which has been pivoted to extended position) preparatory to turning of the end wall and the application to the end face of a roll of paper or the like. The drawbacks of the apparatus of Ekblom are identical with those of the apparatus of Koutonen et al.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,612 to Piesen et al. discloses a machine for manipulating rolls of convoluted paper or the like. The manipulation involves application of inner and/or outer end walls. The patent does not disclose all details of the means for applying end walls to the rolls. Machines of the type disclosed in this patent can be employed to deliver rolls of convoluted paper webs or the like to and from apparatus of the character disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,108 to Piesen et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,650 to Sohlberg et al. discloses an apparatus for cutting end disks for the packing of paper rolls. The patented apparatus is designed to reduce the sizes of blanks so as to convert the blanks into end disks having a desired diameter The apparatus is equipped with a magazine for four stacks of blanks. A selected stack is lifted in the magazine to the level of a removing conveyor which delivers blanks to the trimming station. The output of the patented apparatus is rather low because the blanks must be trimmed to size preparatory to their application to the end faces of a roll of convoluted paper.